A toothbrush is an oral hygiene instrument that is critical for cleaning teeth and gums. However, many children and adults do not employ proper tooth brushing habits as recommended by the American Dental Association. For example, many children not only fail to brush their teeth for the recommended time period of two minutes, but also fail to brush all of their teeth. For instance, some children may only brush their back teeth, while other children may only brush their front teeth.
Also, while some children presume they are brushing their teeth for two minutes, they are mostly standing around with the toothbrush in their mouths. For example, some children use a two-minute timer when brushing their teeth. However, while the child brushes his or her teeth, the child on occasion walks around or stands in front of the mirror with the toothbrush in his or her mouth. When the timer expires, the child then proceeds to rinse out his or her mouth and wash the toothbrush. In this instance, the child has not brushed his or her teeth for the time period recommended by the American Dental Association.